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- The Gov Hub Newsletter: July 8, 2025
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Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov® – a Dem tent weekly that shares action items you can do from your phone, good political news, civic engagement tools and topics, and a little dose of political goss too, right to your inbox.
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GOOD NEWS BEARS
Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]
LOUISIANA BILL THAT WILL CREATE CRIME VICTIMS BILL OF RIGHTS SIGNED INTO LAW: A bill – HB479 – championed by Louisiana state Rep. Mandy Landry [D], was signed into law. The legislation will create a statewide portal that enables all crime victims, witnesses, and family members to be swiftly notified of any updates or changes related to their case – like parole, sentencing, trial, prison escapes etc. In addition, HB479 creates a Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights.
COLORADO BILL SIGNED TO EXTEND PARENTAL LEAVE FOR THOSE WITH INFANTS IN NICU: Circa 2020, Coloradans voted yes on ballot measure that made 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave an actual reality in the state. Fast forward to 2025, and the law has gotten an expansion pack, with the Gov. Jared Polis [D] signing a bill that provides parents with the ability to take an additional 12 weeks of paid leave if their infant is in the NICU.
CA GOV. NEWSOM SIGNS TWO BILLS TO BOOST THE BUILDING OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING: With the goal of breaking down barriers to building affordable housing in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom [D] has signed two bills that aim to streamline and expedite the process – AB 130 & SB 131. Together, the bills check a lot of barrier boxes, including reforming the CEQA review process, expanding the Permit Streaming Act, limiting some Coastal Commission housing appeals while hitting the pedal to the medal on some permitting, and putting a hold on new residential building standards until 2031 with the exception of emergency, fire and conservation-related updates. In addition, the bill-to-law duo, opens the door to sustainable financing tools, enhances and increases oversight of local homeless shelters with annual required inspections by cities and counties, and importantly, doubles the Renter’s Tax Credit [doubling it up to $500 for qualified filers].
FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND
Stories that are guaranteed to make it to the group chat
In Texas Hill Country, tragedy continues to unfold following a deadly flash flood that has taken 104 lives thus far, including many who were attending summer camp. As the search for survivors continues, discussion is further emerging on how major DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service may have played a role in delaying evacuations and/or properly estimating the possible rainfall amounts, with eyes on staffing shortages; criticism is also being lodged at local officials for their failure to evacuate – and also, the area abandoning efforts to build a robust flood warning system previously as a result of budgeting.
2025 could be the year that Virginia and New Jersey elect a former set of roommates to their governorships – both Democrats on each ticket, former member of Congress Abigail Spanberger [VA] and Congresswomen Mikie Sherrill lived together in DC and are running to be governor of their respective states.
The news that has MAGA in a frenetic tizzy is that Trump’s very own Department of Justice [DOJ] and FBI have come to the conclusion that there is no “Epstein list.” The sitch gets quite awkward when you scroll back in time a few months to when AG Pam Bondi said the list was literally on her desk, and this weirdo scene at the White House earlier this year that happened where MAGA influencers were allegedly “given” a copy of the “files.”
The Trump Admin is withholding $6 billion in Congressionally-approved funds for after-school programs, teacher training, and summer programs that support students, proclaiming that the programs are “under review.” School districts that rely on the funds are now scrambling to make plans and navigate a delay that may result in a cut back in programs and staffing.
Congressman Mark Green [R-TN]’s legacy will be voting to pass a bill that will cut healthcare for loads of his constituents and then resigning to take a mysterious job “he can’t talk about.” Sounds… swampy, suss, and shady.
Things aren’t so peachy-keeny in Georgia, where the GOP is trying to install conspiracy theorists on local election boards – mind you, the boards they’re going after with this goal are in the state’s majority Democratic and majority-Black counties [Fulton & DeKalb].
When will the many moving parts of Trump’s bill go into effect? It ranges, with many of the worst parts strategically positioned to begin after the midterms or post 2028 aka with this in mind.
CHRONICALLY ONLINE
Politics meets social media
GTL is now ‘governor, tan, laundry’, after candidate for Governor, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill was spotted down the shore this wknd at D’Jais showing off her bartending chops and meeting with voters [whoever organized this event needs a raise, btw].
New York’s GOP delegation will have a total of 289,000 constituents that will lose their Medicaid coverage as a result of their vote for the bill. And to put a face to a number, like NY Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] did here, these are the GOP members that decided to axe healthcare for the people they represent: Rep. Nick LaLota [48K will lose healthcare], Rep. Andrew Garbarino [48K will lose healthcare], Rep. Nicole Malliotakis [52K will lose healthcare], Rep. Mike Lawler [31K will lose healthcare], Rep. Elise Stefanik [44K will lose healthcare], Rep. Nick Langworthy [35K will lose healthcare], Rep. Claudia Tenney [31K will lose healthcare].
PA Gov. Josh Shapiro [D] also named and shamed his state’s GOP delegation that voted for the bill that will knock 310,000 from Medicaid in the state, will cut access to food assistance for 140,000 Pennsylvanians, increase energy costs by at least $130/household a year, and put 25 rural hospitals in jeopardy.
Congressman Robert Garcia [D-CA], who recently locked in the top spot on the House Oversight Committee told the Pod Save America bros that Stephen Miller is “essentially the biggest piece of shit in the country.” Given that Stephen has his very own page on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website, citing his role in creating the Trump Admin’s “racist and draconian immigration policies,” that feels like a pretty spot on description.
Senator Cory Booker [D-NJ] sat down for an interview on Don’t Worry I’ll Ask pod and discussed the push from Evangelical GOPs to pass bills – like Trump’s last week – that are in opposition to their religious teachings.
EXTREMISM
…that’s the tweet [or the x]
People armed to the teeth in tactical gear who allegedly consisted of National Guard troops and federal agents despite no identification/badges, etc took over LA’s MacArthur Park in a bizarre show of force yesterday before intervention from Mayor Karen Bass who arrived on the scene. Other contextual details of note: the park is in a mostly immigrant neighborhood and is known as the ‘Ellis Island of the West Coast;’ children who were attending day camp had to be ushered inside; outreach workers helping homeless had guns pointed at them; and this is what CA Gov. Gavin Newsom [D] had to say of the sitch.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to CECOT, a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador, reported being severely beaten and subject to psychological torture while being held there. The treatment of Abrego Garcia came to light last week when his lawyers filed a document in court arguing that he should not be sent back to the mega-prison.
Trump’s Department of Homeland Security [DHS] ended deportation protections for an estimated 53,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans yesterday, many of whom received legal, protected status that allowed them to work in the U.S. since 1999 following a deadly hurricane.
Trump’s freshly signed bill throws billions and billions of dollars at ICE, giving the agency known for its masked mobs of unidentified, uniformed immigration enforcement goons more funds than most countries give their entire militaries. The bill also requires a $100 fee for anyone applying for asylum.
In Delaware, two men wearing ‘ICE’ vests robbed and assaulted a driver at gunpoint. In other words, people are literally ordering gear online, pretending to be federal officials, and doing fucked up shit.
In a collab of creepy crawly proportions, Homeland Security and DOGE have paired up to create a searchable national citizenship database by merging immigration data with personal information from the Social Security Administration. The PR spin is that it’s to prevent voter fraud. The real real is it’s possibly violating the Privacy Act of 1974.
Hardcore MAGA extremist and Trump bestie, Laura Loomer tweeted this about the inhumane Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in Florida: “Alligator lives matter. The good news is, alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals if we get started now.” For reference, and as called out on the other side of the aisle, the Latino population in the U.S. is 65 million.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
In the club, we’re all sick
There’s girl math and then there’s GOP math, which via Trump’s bill allocated $50 billion for a rural hospital fund with the idea of making up for money cut as a result of chopping Medicaid to pieces… the only problem with that equation is that they would need another $851 billion to make that work.
Trump’s bill – the same one mentioned right above this line – is set to have a devastating impact on Americans for years to come, with the law estimated to result in the preventable deaths of 51,000 Americans a year.
Elon’s xAI supercomputer facility in Memphis, TN, which is used to power his only friend chatbot Grok, is not only using double the amount of permit approved methane-powered gas turbines, but is increasing the smog in the predominantly Black neighborhood of the city by 30-60%.
Curtis Medical Center in Nebraska announced that it will shutter its doors later this year, citing the Medicaid cuts that will go into effect as a result of the passage of Trump’s bill.
A coalition of six – four groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association are suing the U.S. government over an RFK Jr-based decision to halt the recommendation of COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.
Following a Trump Admin decision earlier this year to cancel more than $1 billion in federal funds to food banks, Trump’s bill for billionaires has taken an axe to SNAP. Translation: food banks that are operating on fumes as is, are going to have to provide more than double the volume to make up the SNAP gap [that’s over 18 billion meals/year].
IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
That money though
Starting on August 1, 2025, fourteen countries will now be subject to blanket tariffs a la President Trump. Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia will now come with a 25% tariff rate; 30% for South Africa and Bosnia; 32% for Indonesia; 35% for Bangladesh and Serbia; 36% for Cambodia and Thailand; and 40% for Laos and Myanmar.
In an unprecedented move, the IRS now says that churches are allowed to make political endorsements without losing their tax-exempt status. RIP separation of church and state [again].
Per this convo on the Mona Chan Show, the math goes like this: deportations = labor shortages, and less taxpayer money [yes, immigrants pay taxes] to fund entitlements like Social Security and reduce the federal deficit.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear [D] underscored that states do not have even close to enough financial resources or otherwise to make up for the holes that Trump’s bill is going to drill into the healthcare industry.
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THE ACTION ITEMS
Get ‘em done from your phone
ACTION 1 - PA RESIDENTS, MASS TRANSITS
The Ask: Tell your state legislators to fully fund mass transit across the state.
The Background: Deadlines, who? ‘Tis the question for the PA state leg that has missed their deadline again and is in need of a reminder that when they do pass it, it needs to include funding for mass public transit [something Gov. Josh Shapiro is on board with] – vital service that enables people to get their jobs, their doctor’s appointments, and so much more.
ACTION 2 - VOTING
The Ask: Ask a friend to register to vote.
The Background: Every szn is election szn. Make sure your crew is ready to roll to the poll(s) – ask them to register.
KEY READS
Important stories from around the USA
Politico: Libertarians seek partnership with Elon Musk
USA Today: As Trump ends TPS, Haitians say returning home would be a ‘death sentence’
AP: Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case that could go to Supreme Court
NPR: The U.S. has millions of old gas and oil wells. Here’s what it takes to plug them up
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